It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
Join the Peanuts gang for a timeless adventure as Charlie Brown preps for a party, Snoopy sets his sights on the Red Baron, and Linus patiently awaits a pumpkin patch miracle. Airs exclusively on PBS on Sunday, October 24 at 7:30 pm.
From The GM's Desk
This year is flying by as we stay quite busy in all areas of WPSU. Our production team has had all hands-on deck for a number of events and shoots this month while others remain busy with operations, reporting, programming, fundraising, events, and administration. Our return to the office has gone well with about half of our employees coming into the office full time or regularly. The other half remain remote or come in only occasionally, if a need arises. I greatly appreciate everyone’s contributions, patience, and resilience as we continue to adapt and adjust to new information during this pandemic.
All my best ...
Birthdays
10/17 Mel DeYoung
10/18 Chris Younken
10/23 Joe Savino
WPSU Radio Highlights
In Case You Missed It . . .
Pa. Lawmakers Spend Millions Of Tax Dollars On Private Lawyers But Often Don’t Reveal Why
Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA and Sam Janesch of The Caucus filed a report about the Pennsylvania legislature spending nearly $10 million during the last two years on private lawyers and routinely shielding the purpose of those expenses, hiding which lawmakers and their staffs required representation — and why, according to a new investigation. A review of thousands of pages of legal invoices and engagement letters from 2019 and 2020 by The Caucus and Spotlight PA shows the cases ranged from public records fights to secret personnel problems to attempts to overturn last year’s presidential election. Full story.
Take Note: 'We Had Ink in Our Blood' Offers Memories Of Past Newspaper Life In State College
For about nine years in the late 1960s into the 1970s, State College had not one, but two daily newspapers. Along with the well-established Centre Daily Times, an afternoon paper at the time, was the Pennsylvania Mirror. This upstart newspaper brought innovative printing techniques along with a lively spirit to its approach. A book, "We Had Ink in Our Blood," offers a collection of stories and memories about the papers, the people who produced them and that period of time in State College. WPSU's Anne Danahy spoke with the book's editors Terry Nau and R. Thomas Berner.
WPSU Television Highlights
Baptiste on Masterpiece (Season 2 Premiere) — Sunday, October 17 at 10:00 pm
Julien Baptiste travels to Hungary to help the British Ambassador, Emma Chambers, find her missing family. When a body is found, the pressure is on to save Emma's two sons.
American Masters “Becoming Helen Keller” - Tuesday, October 19 at 9:00 pm
Revisit Helen Keller's rich career and explore how she perpetually put her celebrity to use to advocate for human rights in the pursuit of social justice for all, particularly women, the poor and people with disabilities.
Nature “My Garden of a Thousand Bees” - Wednesday, October 20 at 8:00 pm
A wildlife cameraman spends his time during the pandemic lockdown filming the bees in his urban garden and discovers the many diverse species and personalities that exist in this insect family..
NOVA “Edible Insects” — Wednesday, October 20 at 8:00 pm
From crunchy cricket chips to nutty black soldier fly grubs, Edible Insects leaps across cultural and culinary boundaries to explore the insect food industry and how it could benefit our health and our warming planet.
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown — Sunday, October 24 at 7:30 pm
Join the Peanuts gang for a timeless adventure as Charlie Brown preps for a party, Snoopy sets his sights on the Red Baron, and Linus patiently awaits a pumpkin patch miracle.
The Bob Ross Experience — Monday, October 25 at 9:00 pm
From 1983 to 1988, Bob filmed The Joy of Painting in a makeshift studio in the L.L. Ball home near the campus of Ball State University. THE BOB ROSS EXPERIENCE is an hour-long program documenting the transformation of his original studio into an intimate museum experience designed for those he inspired.
American Veteran “The Calling” — Tuesdays at 9:00 pm starting October 26
America has 18 million living veterans, from WWII to Afghanistan and Iraq vets. Told exclusively through veterans’ voices, American Veteran presents their experiences in a four-part TV series, and eight-part podcast, and a 10-part digital series.
Seaside Hotel (Season 2 Premiere) — Sundays at 11:00 pm starting October 31
Summer 1928. A new chambermaid, Fie, is hired at the Andersen’s Seaside Hotel. Throughout the day, all the guests arrive, and with no doubt these holidays are going to be very interesting.
Governmental Relations
Federal Appropriations Update
Still a fluid situation in Washington DC and our lobbying group APTS is working on public media’s behalf to keep these items in the final 2022 Appropriations bill:
• $565 million for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) in FY 2024 representing a $90 million increase.
• $20 million for Interconnection — level funding that matches our request.
• $31.78 million for Ready to Learn — a $2.28 million increase.
WPSU receives federal funding through CPB.
What can we do now? Advocate to ensure public media funding is a priority.
Join the grassroots effort led by Protect my Public Media today to have your voice heard by your elected officials in Washington DC. Every voice matters and our Senators and Congressmen pay attention to the “loudest voices” in their districts. Head here to do your part and thank you.
State Funding
Representatives from Pennsylvania PBS including WPSU will be meeting with Senate President pro Tempore Jake Corman on October 19th to advocate for increased state funding for public media.
Industry News
40-50 New Hires ‘Expected’ After WBEZ’s Merger With Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Public Media, parent of one of the most prominent public radio stations in the country, WBEZ, has signed a letter of intent to acquire a legacy newspaper, the Chicago Sun-Times. The move would further transform the city’s news environment, recently shaken by a hedge fund’s acquisition of the Chicago Tribune and buyouts that dramatically cut staffing there. The Medill Local News Initiative’s Mark Jacob interviewed Chicago Public Media CEO Matt Moog and WBEZ’s Chief Content Officer, Tracy Brown, on Oct. 7. Among their statements: WBEZ will remain an active collaborator with many other outlets, not just the Sun-Times; there are no plans to cut the number of print days at the Sun-Times; it’s “understandable” that WBEZ staff were upset over how the merger announcement was handled; and there’s an “expectation” of 40–50 new hires after the deal closes. Full story here.
FCC Boasts 6 Million Emergency Broadband Benefit Sign-Ups
The definitely broadband-centric FCC announced that more than 6 million households have now enrolled in its $3.2 billion Emergency Broadband Benefit program, just one of several Biden Administration creations to get bucks and broadband to a pandemic-sequestered populace in need of those connections as never before. The benefit is up to $50 per month toward broadband service for qualifying low-income and disadvantaged households (up to $75 on tribal lands) and a one-time $100 discount on a computer or connected device from participating providers. Full story here.
Life In The (Very) Fast Lane
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Danish police have confiscated a high-performance luxury car after its new owner was caught speeding as he drove it home from Germany to Norway. The man was registered Thursday as driving at 236 kph (147 mph) in his Lamborghini Huracan on a stretch of highway where the top speed is 130 kph (81 mph). Under a new Danish law, police can seize the vehicles of reckless drivers and auction them off, with the money going into Danish coffers. A Nordjyske newspaper said the man had bought the car hours earlier in Germany for 2 million kroner ($310,000). Jess Falberg, the on-duty officer with the northern Denmark police, told Nordjyske that the owner was “a little annoyed” when the car was seized. The car owner was also be fined for speeding. [AP - 11/8/21]
Boo!
"Halloween was confusing. All my life my parents said, 'Never take candy from strangers.' And then they dressed me up and said, 'Go beg for it.’" – Rita Rudner
Resources and Tips
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